7.  Let the pupil make written analyses or outlines of the following
      topics, to be used by him in presenting the topics
      orally, or to be passed in to the teacher:—­
   a.  What changes took place in the government of the shire
            after the Norman Conquest?
   b.  Trace the development of the coroner’s office.
   c.  Give an account of the justices of the peace and the courts
       held by them.
   d.  Show what applications the English settlers in Massachusetts made of
       their knowledge of the English county.

Section 2.  The Modern County in Massachusetts.

The modern county system of Massachusetts may now be very briefly described.  The county, like the town, is a corporation; it can hold property and sue or be sued.  It builds the court-house and jail, and keeps them in repair.  The town in which these buildings are placed is called, as in England, the shire town.

[Sidenote:  County commissioners.] In each county there are three commissioners, elected by the people.  Their term of service is three years, and one goes out each year.  These commissioners represent the county in law-suits, as the selectmen represent the town.  They “apportion the county taxes among the towns;” “lay out, alter, and discontinue highways within the county;” “have charge of houses of correction;” and erect and keep in repair the county buildings.[6]

[Footnote 6:  Martin’s Civil Government, p. 197.]

[Sidenote:  County treasurer.] The revenues of the county are derived partly from taxation and partly from the payment of fines and costs in the courts.  These revenues are received and disbursed by the county treasurer, who is elected by the people for a term of three years.

[Sidenote:  Courts.] The Superior Court of the state holds at least two sessions annually in each county, and tries civil and criminal causes.  There is also in each county a probate court with jurisdiction over all matters relating to wills, administration of estates, and appointment of guardians; it also acts as a court of insolvency.  The custody of wills and documents relating to the business of this court is in the hands of an officer known as the register of probate, who is elected by the people for a term of five years.

[Sidenote:  Shire town and court-house.] To preserve the records of all land-titles and transfers of land within the county, all deeds and mortgages are registered in an office in the shire town, usually within or attached to the court The register of deeds is an officer elected by the people for a term of three years.  In counties where there is much business there may be more than one.

[Sidenote:  Justices of the peace.] Justices of the peace are appointed by the governor for a term of seven years, and the appointment may be renewed.  Their functions have been greatly curtailed, and now amount to little more than administering oaths, and in some cases issuing warrants and taking bail.  They may join persons in marriage, and, when specially commissioned as “trial justices,” have criminal jurisdiction over sundry petty offences.